The acceptability of pig organ xenografts to patients awaiting a transplant

As the waiting lists for allotransplants of heart, kidney, and liver continue to grow, alternative sources of organs for transplantation are being sought: xenografts from pigs to humans could be a solution. However, is this solution acceptable to patients? To answer this question, we sought opinions, using a questionnaire, from 277 patients on a waiting list for a cadaver transplant for either a kidney (207), heart, or heart/lung transplant (70); there was a 65% (188) response rate. Approximately 75% of respondents had heard of xenografting; 50% would accept a xenograft for themselves and 43% for a relative; and 10% found a xenograft to be unacceptable and similar to 40% were unsure and wanted more information. The most acceptable donor animal was the pig (27%), but 24% would accept organs from any animal; 68% had no objection to breeding animals as a source of organs and considered that the most appropriate use of animal tissue to be when no human organs were available. Thus, a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 90% of patients awaiting an allograft would accept a xenograft, although most would prefer a human rather than an animal donor.